Skin care

The Next Big Skin Care Trend: CC Creams

This is the trend that's about to dethrone the BB cream. Here's what you need to know about the new CC creams

by Dawn Davis

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The biggest beauty product trend I can remember in my eight-plus-year career (and many more makeup-obsessed years prior to becoming a beauty editor) is BB creams. Just about every beauty company in the world spent the last 12 months formulating and then launching one of these tinted multi-taskers otherwise known as "beauty balms."

Then, a few months ago, I started hearing whispers among big players in the beauty biz about another hot skin care trend coming out of Asia -- a cream that would do the BB one better. The obvious name for such a product? The CC cream.

Skip ahead to find out what makes CC creams so special.

But CC isn't just an arbitrary name cooked up by a beauty executive with a preschooler at home. CC stands for "color correcting," because that's exactly what it's designed to do: even and brighten the color of your complexion. (Of course, that's the primary function of BB creams as well. But I digress.)

While the CC cream phenomenon is still in its infancy, Olay won the metaphorical race and launched the first one in the United States this October. And I think it's safe to assume that many companies will be following suit and coming out with their own CC creams in 2013.

After trying just about every BB cream available, I spent the last few weeks playing with the new Olay Color Correcting cream and as many of the best CC creams from Asia that I could get my hands on. And I'm breaking down the noticeable differences between BB creams and CC creams -- they're subtle, but they're there. Here's what you need to know to be a step ahead of the CC cream trend. You know, before a DD cream comes out.

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Older comments

Good to hear about "CC" creams. I've had difficulty finding a "BB" cream with a shade and a texture which worked for me. I finally gave up . . .

by GigiSD Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 06:39PM Report as inappropriate

thanks for all this info cause i din't know about cc creams ,i wonder if garnier BB cream is good or not

by Ross1113 Friday, March 15, 2013 at 11:57AM Report as inappropriate

No matter how hard I try, I can't love BB creams. Either the texture is effective and the color is bad, or vice versa. CC creams? Open to experimentation here . . .

by GigiSD Friday, March 8, 2013 at 05:51PM Report as inappropriate

I love my Olay

by Alana_Danes Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 04:29AM Report as inappropriate

I use physicians formula color correcting mineral powder and a toner over the top like Better Botanicals Juniper Toner to make the power lay flat like a cream. A non-toxic alternative that won't clog your pores or make your bare skin look worse.

by Clearskindiva Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 12:27PM Report as inappropriate

This was an informative post! I'm excited to try the CC creams but find it frustrating you can't get "free samples" anywhere, it seems. Since you're paying a good amount for the product, you would think the beauty and skin companies would be generous with samples.

by dawnrager Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at 08:49PM Report as inappropriate

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with those of us who are intimidated by the sheer number of beauty products available to us.

by bksc Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at 12:22AM Report as inappropriate

First time hearing about this. I would love to try this. My face can get really red, so I would love the color correcting and coverage.

by hopela Monday, January 14, 2013 at 09:32PM Report as inappropriate

i love bb creams im not too sure that cc cream will be all that great for me, they seem like they will clog my pores. I like that bb creams are lighter but ill give it a try anyways! ill probably be going for the olay cc cream

by rayshaviolet Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 03:24PM Report as inappropriate

not to fond of bb creams anyway!

by Mommy_of_Ethan Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 12:46PM Report as inappropriate